For many animators working at Walt Disney Studios is the ultimate goal. And, after having collaborated for Disney’s crème de la crème productions such as The Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan and Brother Bear, among others, one could have said it was ‘as good as it got’ for animator and illustrator Aaron Blaise. Only it wasn’t…
“It was interesting that I never really intended to be an animator. I wanted to be a painter and an illustrator” Aaron told us during an interview for Blend Online 2011. “I was with Disney during that really wonderful time, through the 90s, where we had that resurgence of beautiful hand-drawn animation. I was lucky enough that that’s where my career started”.
After 21 years there, he left Disney to pursue an opportunity and help start up a new animation studio called Tradition Studios, where he started developing The Legend of Tembo about a little African Elephant. Like many start ups though, the company he was working for ran out of funds and went bankrupt.
The loss of his job as an animation director though has been shaping up to become one of the greatest opportunities of his life. He ended up reviving his painting career and teaching other artists about drawing and painting.
“Drawing is your language. The more fluent you can be with your language, the more beautiful the animation will be”, he likes to say. Any talk with him is full of insights and inspiration, that’s why we simply cannot wait to have him right in front of our eyes during The Art Department 2022 in both Eindhoven and Berlin.
Exclusive addition to the program – 2 day workshops by Aaron Blaise
Dates and locations:
30 April + 1 May | A-Lab in Amsterdam | 10.00-17.00
12 May + 13 May | Drink and Draw Berlin | 10.00-17.00
Fee: €350 including coffee/tea/water + lunch
Maximum seats: 20 participants per workshop – tickets available here.